Migrant community demands immediate amnesty for overstayers

Green Party MPs and the Migrant Workers Association demand immediate amnesty for overstayers.

In a public meeting Green Party MPs and Anu Kaloti of the Migrant Workers Association were calling for the community to rally behind the cause.

The Government is under pressure following multiple petitions demanding pathways to residency for the estimated 14,000 overstayers across Aotearoa.

Recently the migrant workers association launched a second petition with over 900 signatures at the time of publishing, with Kaloti saying plans for community action were in the final stages.

Green Party MP Ricardo Menéndez March called for an increased push from the community over the next few months, saying it is “the closest we’ve ever been to an amnesty.”

March says he could not commit to the issue as a key policy for the Greens this election, but he would be surprised if it did not feature prominently in the party's manifesto.

The Green Party have been advocating for an amnesty since at least 2017.

Kaloti voiced that she was committed to holding the party to account for their promises to push for overstayer amnesty and wider immigration reform.

“[The government] missed the perfect opportunity with the dawn raid apology, but now is the next best time” says Kaloti.

Earlier this year the Government said it would investigate the initial petition launched by Pacific community leaders and migrants in 2020.

Teanau Tuiono MP for the Green Party says his efforts to find out where the status of this investigation was at had fallen on deaf ears.

Community pressure was going to be key in pushing the government to act before the elections, with Tuiono saying the Greens simply do not have the seats to do it alone.

Pakilau Manase Lua from the Pacific Leadership Forum says it is long overdue that the issue was viewed in human terms, not just what the system can get of people in terms of labour.

“The bureaucrats in immigration have no idea about the reality, they just plug you into the capitalist matrix and once it’s done, you’re out.”

Although Pasifika people only represent 29 per cent of overstayers, Lua says they have become the face of the issue after the dawn raids in the 70s.